I did this new thing!

I've been wanting to learn how to crochet, so decided to plunge in and try to teach myself.

I found this really great video on you tube;  CLICK HERE by Bonnie Barker.

It was very easy to follow and I ended up with two new dishcloths. 

Are they perfect?  NO  Did I have to pull the yarn out and restart several times?  YES  Was it fun?  YES   Are they usable?  YES  Will I make more?  YES 

I'm going to try a different cotton yarn next time, as this one feels pretty stiff.  I've done my research and I want to try one that is 85% cotton, 15% polyester.   Does anyone have a favorite yarn for making dishcloths?

I finished the baby quilt binding on Sunday.  Here are pictures, mainly for my own documentation. 

It has been laundered and survived the dryer.  Does anyone else hold their breath each and every time they wash and dry a quilt for the first time?  :-))

I truly enjoyed every single stitch while making this quilt.

This quilt will be gifted next week when I take Sweet Pea back for her follow up appointment.  Thank you for the kind words about her and I am happy to report she is back to her normal self.  I am praying her liver tests will be normal next week.

Slow Stitching

Our little corner of eastern NC survived Hurricane Florence, but our nearby neighbors did not fare so well.  We were without power for five days, but that was the extent of our discomfort.

I did some slow stitching through the hurricane, which I have thoroughly enjoyed doing for the past few weeks.

It had been awhile since I did any hand quilting with regular quilting thread.  I had to redevelop a callous on my underneath finger, (ouch) but I had forgotten just how relaxing hand quilting can be.

This was the first time I had tried out my Barnett's quilting hoop that I had recently purchased from eBay.  I can't even tell you how much I love this hoop; it is very lightweight and easy to maneuver.  I'm so  glad I bought it.

This quilt panel is also an eBay find that I had purchased sometime back.  I don't know for sure, but I think it may be a poly/cotton blend.  It "needled" so easily and was a pleasure to stitch.

Here it is, almost finished.  I have one corner and one side of  binding left to  hand sew  today.   I used the same  backing fabric for the binding and I just love the pop of blue in this quilt.  Of course, this quilt is going to a little girl baby, but I think the mom will appreciate it not being "too pink".

**I am linking up to Kathy's Quilts to share for slow stitching Sunday.  It is always fun to see what others are working on with their needle and threads.  Click on her link to see lots of pretty projects in progress.

This quilt is being made for my sweet veterinarian, who is also a family friend  My kids grew up playing with Dr. Natalie and her siblings, so it's extra special to now have her as doctor for my fur babies.

Speaking of which:

Sweet Pea (11 years old)

This has been one sick little girl for the past few days.  We don't know why, but she got extremely sick a few days after the hurricane.  The vet said she had seen lots of animals who had ingested bad water after the hurricane, but we don't think that is the case here.  We had a visiting toad frog on the back porch, whom I lwas allowing to live here, because I did not know they were toxic to animals and it had been so long since I had seen one.  We are wondering if she may have eaten it, as she is our little hunter.  Normal liver values (ALP) for dogs are less than 200.  My girl's was over 900.   Dr. Natalie gave her some fluids and medication and sent her home.

It was touch and go for about 24 hours and I really thought we might lose her.  She was breathing rapidly and puffing her cheeks with respirations.  She couldn't stand and would barely open her eyes.

She still isn't well, but this is her this morning.  She has eaten a little boiled chicken and is drinking water again, so we are hoping she has made a turn for the better.  I never knew having fur babies could be so heart breaking!  I do love them, so.

Leaving you with two photo's of my sweet granddaughters.  This is Annabelle.

This is Brinley Kate and her mommy, Ashley.  They have started dressing alike on Sunday's sometimes, which I find quite adorable!

I hope all is well in your world.  What are you working on?

Is it really March?

Grandma's helper

Ok folks, time is flying by!! (it'll be Christmas before we know it)

February was a busy month for me.

 Several of you have asked about Butterbean, as my last post was about him and his surgery.  He recovered extremely well from his surgery and acts like a young dog again.  I guess those large two tumors were affecting his activity level.  He has been kicking and playing and chasing his tail, and acting like a young boy again.

The  bad news is that he does have malignant cancer.  Both biopsies showed the cancer, which has pretty well been removed at this time.  We have elected not to do any type of further treatment, but will love him for as long as we can.
                                       

Brinley Kate

This little girl came to stay with Grandma and Papa for 9 days.  She was a pure pleasure to have around and is growing up so fast.  I realized two things about her while she was here;  1. She loves suckers (lollipops) and spent a LOT of  time trying to decide which flavor she could have the next time she was allowed one.  2.  She loves playing baby dolls as much as her Grandma did when she was a little girl.  

I loved seeing that she included her doll in all day play.  Whatever we were doing, we had to consider the doll.... what she was wearing, if she needed to eat, if she could ride in the car, etc.

Since Brinley has gone back home, I have been going through my scrap flannel and making bedding accessories.  I have two cradles and I'm trying to get them both fixed up for when both granddaughters are here at the same time.  

From there, I made mini burp pads for the dolls; then wash cloths and towels.  I need to pick up baby bottles, make cloth diapers, and anything else I can think of to get our granddaughter doll center into place. It has been fun and mindless sewing so far.

Tumpy

As if we need another sad dog story, here's another one about our black dachshund.  He woke me up at 3:00 Monday morning (snow on the ground) and needed to go outside, which is rare for him.  He was acting a little strange, pacing, scratching and just not being himself.  By last night, he was vomiting and very lethargic.

I took him to the vet this morning and he was diagnosed with liver and heart problems.  We came home with a bag of medication to see if we can get him better.  He is already feeling better by this afternoon, but I'm not sure how the long term will be for him.  

I know my dogs are now known as 'old dogs' but it seems odd to me that so much is happening all at once with them.  (Sweet Pea, the other dachshund has a fast growing mass on her shoulder that we will have looked at next)  We moved here two years ago and the only thing that is different with them is our water supply.  We are now on municipal water, whereas we had used well water before.  Any thoughts?  The whole dog process is a first time thing for me.  

I have been cleaning out and reorganizing my sewing room which has been a busy job.  I have rearranged the layout and I think I like it better.  I'm hoping the new arrangement will make me spend a little more time in there.  The weather is still cool here, but I just know Spring is right around the corner!!

Question:  I have noticed that a lot of bloggers no longer reply to their comments with an email.  This means we have to go back to their blog to see if they have any kind of reply for us.  I'm not really a fan of this way, but I'm wondering if there is a way to know they have responded without having to go back to the same post to find out. 

 

Sweet Butterbean

Our sweet Butterbean turned 11 years old on Feb.2.

A few days before his birthday, we had taken him to the vet to have two large masses checked out.  (the first having been there a few years, and we were always told it was a harmless fat tumor)   I found a new one in his groin around Christmas time. 

This is how Butterbean looks today.  He had surgery on Tuesday to remove these tumors, which have turned out to be cancer. 

We are so sad, but we are loving on our sweet boy all we can.  The vet said he needs to rest a lot for at least a week, so the incisions on his hip, side, and belly can heal.   We are waiting on biopsy reports, just to see what type of cancer we are dealing with. 

Butterbean likes to follow me everywhere I go inside the house.  So I have had to make myself sit a little more than usual, which really hasn't been a problem.  I'm still making yo yo's. 

**Of course, after the fact, I have done lot of research and feel guilty because we have allowed the vet to administer every type of vaccine that was offered ,  used flea and tick medicine, gave monthly heartworm medication..... thinking we were doing a good thing.  I am now realizing that some of these cancers have been attributed to over vaccinating.  Go figure! **

If you have young puppies, please do your research now.